‘Reuters Has It Wrong Again,’ Says Binance In Response To Reports Of DoJ Charges: Report

Binance refutes a Reuters report that the DoJ is preparing to place charges on the crypto exchange.

Binance, in a tweet today, has refuted details of a report from Reuters insinuating that the US Department of Justice will soon file charges against the crypto exchange.

The Reuters report suggested that the DoJ could file charges against the crypto exchange soon based on a money laundering and criminal sanctions investigation that kicked off in 2018. While it says some prosecutors now believe there is enough evidence to act on, it also highlights senior officials at the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) are hesitant. Notably, per the report, the approval of this unit is needed for charges to be filed, but the group has a history of moving slowly. 

However, with the change of the MLARS chief in October, Reuters implies that prosecution may come sooner rather than later. As highlighted by the news outlet, the new MLARS chief, Brent Wible, comes from units known for swifter prosecution action.

Meanwhile, per the report, the investigation over the last four years has cast a cloud over the crypto exchange and shaped its operations. The article implies that Binance’s Anti-Money Laundering rules and sanctions enforcement is still not up to code. It suggests that the reason Binance launched the US arm of the exchange was to distract regulators from the international version. In addition, it says that the investigation is why the crypto exchange has gone on a hiring spree for regulators with links to the US Treasury and DoJ.

Binance Says Reuters Is Wrong

However, Binance, an hour after the report, refuted claims from the report, sharing its official response to Reuters’ request for comment and a blog post discussing its security and compliance team. While it says it can not speak to what the US DoJ plans to do, it defends its law enforcement team.

“Reuters has it wrong again,” the exchange wrote via its official Twitter handles. “Now they’re attacking our incredible law enforcement team. A team that we’re incredibly proud of – they’ve made crypto more secure for all of us.”

Reuters has it wrong again.

Now they're attacking our incredible law enforcement team. A team that we're incredibly proud of – they've made crypto more secure for all of us.

Here’s the full statement we sent the reporter and a blog about our remarkable law enforcement team.

— Binance (@binance) December 12, 2022

Per the shared blog post, Binance touts its security and compliance team as the strongest in the finance sector. Binance says its team responds to law enforcement faster than any other. 

Despite suggestions that the crypto exchange has expanded the team with former high-ranking officials from US enforcement agencies for the sake of the open DoJ investigation, Binance outlines the achievements of its team to prove otherwise. In 2022, Binance, in brief, says its team has:

• Responded to over 47,000 law enforcement requests 
• Increased its headcount by over 500%
• Participated in over 70 anti-cybercrime workshops with law enforcement globally.
• Joined the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), the first crypto firm to do so.

The Response From The Crypto Community

In response to the Reuters report, several members of the crypto community have expressed frustration with the perceived obsession of mainstream media and US enforcement agencies with Binance, especially as they feel the latter should be focused on the FTX collapse. 

However, a few wonder if everything is truly alright at the top crypto exchange by volume. Notably, it would not be the first time in recent months that executives of popular crypto firms have assured users that everything is fine when things are not. 

Following recent industry collapses, trust in centralized crypto platforms has plummeted. While nothing in the report points to fraud or funds mismanagement charges, a legal battle with the DoJ could shake Binance’s claim to the top of the crypto world, as highlighted by Reuters. 

Reuters reports that former MLARS chief Kendall Day is handling negotiations on behalf of Binance to secure an out-of-court settlement. 

It bears mentioning that trust in mainstream media has also dropped as much as in central crypto platforms in recent weeks.